Mexican Caribbean & Yucatan News

New ferry service to Cozumel

Xailing is offering a new ferry service from Playa del Carmen to the island of Cozumel with departures at regular intervals throughout the day. If you would like to go diving, snorkeling or simply explore Mexico’s largest Caribbean island, hop on the Xailing ferry.

Tickets are available from Thomas More Travel.

Summer archaeological site openings

Located between Puerto Juarez and Punta Sam on the outskirts of Cancun, El Meco archaeological site will reopen this summer after excavation and restoration work.

In southern Quintana Roo near Bacalar Lagoon, Ichkabal archaeological site is also set to open in August. The ancient city dates from the pre-Classic period (400 BC) to the Late post-Classic period of Maya history (AD 1500). Four buildings, including a large temple pyramid, have been excavated and restored so far, and there are many more still in the dense jungle undergrowth.

Finally, Oxtankah, also in southern Quintana Roo, reopens this summer after restoration work. The largest archaeological site on the shores of Chetumal Bay, Oxtankah has Mayan temples and the ruins of a colonial chapel.

Deepest blue hole in the world is in the Mexican Caribbean

You may have seen photos of the famous Blue Hole in Belize, that mysterious deep blue sinkhole in the middle of the sea, but it isn’t the only one in the area. Colegio de la Frontera Sur (Ecosur) hydrologists working along the Mexican Caribbean coast have found others during the course of their research, one of which is in the Manatee Reserve in the Bay of Chetumal. Called Taam Ja’ (Deep waters in Maya), this sinkhole is now the deepest one in the world found to date, as survey date shows a depth of 423.6 meters and divers still haven’t reached the bottom.

Research continues on this natural wonder – the only one found in an estuarine ecosystem to date – to discover whether Taam Ja’ is connected to underground rivers and cave systems on the mainland. Analysis of the water column shows layers of salt and brackish water and it appears that channels and crevices in the limestone may connect it to the Caribbean.

Water seeps through the limestone rock, gradually weakening it over millions of years widening cracks to form tunnels through which underground streams may flow, caves and cenotes or sinkholes.

Source: Sipse